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Israel's Mossad Secretly Tried to Recruit Former Iranian President Ahmadinejad

How 6 Israeli newsrooms covered this story — translated into English and compared side by side.

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First reported by Kikar HaShabbat · 2 hours ago

What happened

The New York Times exposes a secret Israeli Mossad operation to recruit former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a potential future leader, involving secret meetings, funding, and a personal encounter with Mossad chief David Barnea in Budapest. Ahmadinejad is now reportedly under house arrest in Iran after the regime uncovered his contacts with Israel.

01Israel's Mossad sought to recruit ex-Iranian President Ahmadinejad as a future leader after regime change.
02Mossad chief David Barnea personally met Ahmadinejad in Budapest in 2024 during a covert operation.
03Israel secretly funded Ahmadinejad's travel and housing outside Iran and held multiple secret meetings.
04Ahmadinejad grew estranged from Tehran and was sidelined from presidential elections repeatedly.
05After an Israeli strike, Mossad allegedly extracted Ahmadinejad to a safe house inside Iran, but he later left.
06Iranian authorities uncovered the contacts, placing Ahmadinejad under house arrest by Revolutionary Guards intelligence.

Summary translated & synthesized from the sources below by baba. Read each original for the full report.

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